Overcoming Temptation

The People of God Set Priorities
Living as a Community of Believers
Overcoming Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:12-22  The Message

^11-12 These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
¹³ No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.
¹⁴ So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.
^15-18 I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That’s basically what happened even in old Israel—those who ate the sacrifices offered on God’s altar entered into God’s action at the altar.
^19-22 Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what’s the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don’t want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can’t have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won’t put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?

 
For Reflection

To what extent are you worshiping a god of your making.  Even as Christians we personalize our god.  However holding only individual conceptions of God is like a blind person touching the tail of an elephant and declaring an elephant is a snake.  Individually we are limited in our understanding of God.  Together in the fellowship of the faithful, we have a more complete understanding.  We, in fellowship with each other and the Holy Spirit, become unified in Christ and Christ will raise us to meet the expectations for stewards in God's Kingdom.

 

Pray

that you will seek to grow in understanding, obedience, and grace in the Spirit of God.